BRT Karachi corruption: Court rejects Zameer Abbasi’s bail plea, says ‘big players’ may be involved

KARACHI: An anti-corruption court on Saturday dismissed the bail application of former Project Director of the Karachi Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Yellow Line project, Zameer Ahmed Abbasi, in an alleged Rs8.5 billion corruption case.

During the hearing, the court raised questions over the payment process for the project and remarked that the circumstances suggested that “big players” might be involved in the case.

The special anti-corruption court heard Abbasi’s bail plea in the case related to alleged irregularities in the BRT Yellow Line project.

However, the Sindh government’s public prosecutor did not oppose the bail application.

Abbasi’s lawyer argued that payments were made after fulfilling the required conditions and obtaining bank guarantees.

The court questioned whether all terms and conditions had been completed before the release of payments. The lawyer responded that it was the prosecution’s responsibility to prove any violation of rules.

The defence lawyer also said whether the Anti-Corruption Establishment or the Chief Minister’s Inspection Team (CMIT) had ever inspected the project site or verified the material before registering the case.

During the hearing, the judge remarked that the payment released to the accused appeared to have been made without following proper legal procedures and questioned whether a project director had unlimited authority or considered himself the chief minister.

The court observed that millions of rupees were allegedly paid in the BRT project without approval from the consultant and questioned the impact of letters written by the World Bank regarding the project.

The judge also questioned whether government pressure to speed up work could justify bypassing legal procedures.

“If there is pressure from the government to complete work quickly, does that mean you continue carrying out illegal actions?” the court asked.

The defence counsel argued that his client had become a target in the case.

Yellow Line BRT Karachi: Ex-director accused of Rs8.5 bln irregularities

The defence lawyer said that the same procedure followed by Abbasi was still being used with the contractor. He added that hundreds of development projects in Pakistan were being executed under similar procedures.

The lawyer claimed that Abbasi had become trapped in the matter, saying, “Someone else was the target in this case, but I became the victim, and now Zameer Abbasi is in jail.”

The special prosecutor maintained that Abbasi violated procedures and released payments without approval from the consultant.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the court rejected Zameer Abbasi’s bail application.

The BRT Yellow Line project is among Karachi’s major public transport initiatives and has faced scrutiny over alleged financial irregularities.